by Dreagen
Below was what looked like a luminous sea of fire whose waves lapped up into the sky, like whips trying to swat them down. They could make out dozens of motionless burning shapes lying amongst the flames while others ran to and fro: many fighting, some dying. EeNox wondered who they were, how long ago he had spoken to them, and how he would never do so again. All because of the monsters like the one who currently had him in her clutches. Still, it was the not knowing why that brought him back and forth from the brink of madness and despair.
Suddenly, LemaRes veered hard to the right and flew quickly towards what at first the two of them thought was the main gates, but then realized was a battle raging several hundred meters below it. ShinGaru strained his eyes to see, the smoky air stinging them as he did so, and he saw a battle of a very different sort, one where his people were winning.
There in the middle of all the blood and fire was KyVina and most of the tribe—biting, clawing, and burning at the DraGons mercilessly, who swooped in low or faced them head on at ground level.
“Do you see that?” EeNox cried up to his captor. “They made it back in! KyVina and the others will kill every last one of you if you don’t fly away as fast as your flames can carry you!”
“Hmm…is that so?” LemaRes replied, seemingly unfazed by the boy’s bravado or the scene playing out below. “Well, while formidable they may be, their victory, unfortunately for you, is not part of our plan. Meaning, of course, that this silly indiscretion currently taking place below must cease.”
Before either one of them could even ask what she was going to do, they felt their bodies wrenched upward as the DraGon stopped in midair, reared back, and unleashed another giant blue-flamed version of herself from her own body like the one they had witnessed at the Spire, sending it swooping down towards the battle below.
KyVina heard cries of surprise coming from behind, prompting her turn just in time to see a large fiery DraGon quickly descending down on them. “Everybody run!”
The others looked up to see the same terrifying sight, and ran as fast as they could to avoid the oncoming assault.
TemBol, who had been standing his ground at the entrance of the hot springs, and who had killed several DraGons that broke away from the main fight with KyVina’s warriors and tried to get into the sanctuary below, now watched in dumfounded horror as death burned across the world he knew, directly towards him. He knew full well that running would mean the flames would snake their way down the tunnel and kill everyone below, and so he made his choice.
With a snort of green flame from his nostrils, he stomped his feet into the ground, burying them past his ankles. With one final look behind him, he turned back around to face that which would bestow upon him his finest hour. With a mighty bellow, he unleashed the full force of his flame. Higher and wider it spread in front of him until it created a barrier wider than the cave entrance itself. Within seconds, the flaming DraGon slammed into the barrier. Gritting his teeth together, TemBol lowered his frill and pushed his flame against the deadly force.
EeNox desperately squirmed in LemaRes’s grasp as he watched the burning DraGon spread over where the battle had been raging, before a massive green flame erupted from below, and he was slammed into LemaRes’s burning extension of herself with such force that it shook the entire mountain.
“Hmm,” LemaRes muttered. “Stubborn little beasts they are.”
TemBol pushed with all his might but could feel his flame being overwhelmed by the other. He knew he would not be able to hold it for more than another minute, and that his only chance was to try to redirect its force from straight on to straight up. To achieve this, he would have to wedge his own flame beneath it, meaning he would have to take the full brunt of his enemy. This power…it’s incredible!It could kill anyone in a second…suppose I’ll just have to survive for two. Thank you everyone for a life filled with your love…goodbye. With one final battle cry that carried through the smoky skies and burning streets, TemBol forced his flame down, and was immediately struck by the flaming DraGon.
ShinGaru and EeNox shielded their eyes as LemaRes growled in surprise, whipping her head away from the sudden blinding flash of light, as her burning extension was sent rocketing straight up into the sky, burning a hole through the dense smoke and revealing the star-filled sky above.
Rex dug his claws into the cave floor up to the knuckles as he lay on top of DiNiya’s back in an effort to shield her from the flames lapping inside. He had reacted so quickly that he had not even had a chance to see if AnaSaya and LyCora had managed to drop to the ground in time. He could only hope that he would find them both unscathed when the flames died.
After what seemed like much longer than it had been, he felt the heat on his back die down and the blinding light fade until it was gone entirely.
“Are you all right?” he whispered into DiNiya’s ear.
“Yes,” she replied. “You?”
Rex raised his head and strained his neck to glimpse at his back, which looked like a dark red, almost brown, sunburn.
“Not the worst thing that’s happened to me today,” he replied as he stood up and helped her to her feet.
To their mutual relief, they saw that the other two had dropped to the ground in time to avoid the rush of fire. “Is everyone all right?” DiNiya asked.
“Yes,” AnaSaya replied, nodding her head vigorously with a type of wide-eyed bewilderment.
“Still breathing,” LyCora said simply, throwing her singed cloak to the ground.
“I know this may not sound like the smartest thing to do in light of what just happened,” Rex said. “But I’m still going out there to find ShinGaru and EeNox.” With that, he turned and ran out, leaving the others behind. The girls all glanced at one another, and with silent agreement, rushed after him.
With every step, DiNiya found herself gaining a stronger sense of determination. Watching Rex and how he reacted to everything that was happening around him with such unrelenting determination made the will to fight within her grow stronger. She was determined to do whatever she could to take back her home, and stop the senseless slaughter of her people. You won’t have to do this alone, Rex. I promise you that. She rounded the corner and suddenly slammed into his back, while he remained frozen in place. DiNiya shook her head and looked back up, only to be greeted by a sight that seemed nigh impossible—a worse visage than the one she saw prior to entering the cave.
Directly in front of them was what looked like a long, wide trail of scorched black soil that was three times wider than the cave entrance itself and stretched as far back as a hundred meters. Everything on either side was covered in a thick layer of dust and ash; there was nothing living or even standing in the long dark trail that reached right up and into the entrance of the cave where they stood.
“What happened out here?” DiNiya asked, looking around despairingly.
“Did someone…do this?” AnaSaya asked, sharing DiNiya’s sense of shock.
“I really hope not,” LyCora said in a voice that betrayed any false courage she may have been trying to put forward.
“I don’t think hope is a luxury we have tonight,” Rex said grimly as he scanned the surrounding devastation.
Suddenly they heard movement off to their left, and turned just in time to see the immense form of a DoraMax hauntingly rise up from the debris-covered ground, ash falling off her like sand. She shook her entire body, starting from her head and working her way down to the tip of her tail, creating a huge dark plume all around her.
“Hey, look, it’s LyVera,” Rex said in surprise.
“But if she’s here, shouldn’t the others be, too?” DiNiya asked, looking worried.
As if on cue, the other warriors began rising out of the ashen soil on both sides of the burnt path, one of which rose up as a dark, four-legged silhouette, who let out a loud sneeze, sending ash everywhere.
“NyRo,” DiNiya exclaimed and ran over to him, wrapping her arms around his muzzle tightly. “You’re all
right!”
NyRo hacked off to the side to clear his mouth before rubbing his face against her in return. “Yes, thanks to VayRonx, VoRenna, and many of the others, we were able to destroy the sentinel clones which were sealing the gates.”
“Sentinel clones?” DiNiya repeated, looking surprised, and then feeling foolish for it, given all that she had seen tonight, asked, “Did they…hurt anyone?”
Sensing her meaning, he replied comfortingly, “No one was killed or severely injured. Their goal wasn’t to fight us, but to keep us from getting back in.”
“So, they were just decoys?”
“That’s right,” KyVina said, walking up to both of them. “They were the bait, and we took it.”
“Calm yourself,” came the towering voice of LyVera from high above. “There was no way we could have known, especially after the last time they appeared.”
KyVina knew she was right, of course, but still felt as if she had let her tribe down. As she scanned the devastation, she could not help but ask herself, Would things have turned out differently had VayRonx been here?
“Hey, where’s TemBol?” Rex asked, noticing he was no longer at his self-imposed post. In fact, there was nothing left in front of the entrance to the cave.
KyVina lowered her head slightly and let out a low, mournful sound. “I am truly sorry, but only the truth will do, to revere TemBol’s honor and memory…”
“His memory?” Rex asked, looking up.
“Please, no,” DiNiya sobbed. “Don’t tell me he’s…”
“He sacrificed his life to save all of yours,” NyRo said. “He died a hero.”
DiNiya could feel anger and sadness swelling up within her, both battling for dominance. She clenched her fists, tilted her head back, and screamed wildly at the sky, at the DraGons circling high above.
AnaSaya rushed to her and tried to calm her but was immediately pushed away. “Why is this happening?” she cried up to the closest DraGons. “What have we done to you to deserve this?”
“You have the audacity to exist!” came the voice of someone unseen.
They craned their heads to the sky just as LemaRes descended down through the thick smoke. The DraGon’s four massive leathery wings were covered in blue fire and flapped slowly before she came to a stop, hovering no higher than thirty meters off the ground, with two others close behind. Clutched in each hand were EeNox and ShinGaru, who appeared to be trying to burn their way free from the grip of their captor, who either did not notice or was not bothered enough by it to put a stop to their efforts.
“EeNox! ShinGaru!” DiNiya shouted at the sight of them.
“Get back!” her brother yelled. “All of you run! Now!”
“By all means, feel free if the desire possesses you,” the DraGon mused. “Moving targets always make for better sport.”
“Who are you?” KyVina demanded.
The DraGon fired a blast of fire, sending her slamming into the rock wall next to the cave entrance, hitting it with such force that she hung there for a moment before sliding to the ground where she lay motionless.
The others tried to run to her, but PeroDay and VorTak swooped down and blocked their path.
“Now, now,” LemaRes said, shaking a finger. “It’s rude to ignore your guests.”
“Not if they’re uninvited,” Rex growled as he glared up angrily.
“Rex, don’t be an idiot!” EeNox begged. “She’s the one who created the sentinel clones and made that CeraVora attack us! Just get out of here, all of you!”
“We’re not running,” said DiNiya, stepping forward. “This is our home and our tribe! We will not stand by and let them destroy both!”
Despite her stoic words and declaration of principle, LemaRes had paid her no attention. Rather, she had fixed her gaze on Rex from the moment he had spoken.
Rex had also not taken his eyes off of the enemy, not realizing that it was his eyes that had gotten him noticed in the first place. Finally, the others realized what had captured the DraGon’s attention, and they turned to look at the scarlet-eyed young man.
At last LemaRes spoke. “Is it really you?” Rex cocked his head. “Can it really be you?”
“What are you talking about?” Rex asked. “Who exactly do you think I am?”
“It is! Your flame…it has been so long since I have felt its raw power, but it feels like almost no time has passed at all. It’s so much weaker than I remember, but even still, why are you holding it at bay, I wonder?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but this all ends now!”
“Right you are. I would have preferred you to remember who I was, so you could truly understand the significance of this moment, but no matter. It’s still a treat to see you in such a pitiful state. The mighty Doom Bringer reduced to such a lowly, ineffectual creature! It’s so pathetic when I think of what you were…I could almost weep.” Rex looked around at the others for some sort of clarification as to what the beast was talking about, but found none. “I have dreamed of being the one to find you at long last! The one who would have the honor of capturing the Doom Bringer!”
“Not if I can help it,” EeNox said as he mustered enough energy and fired a shot into LemaRes’s left eye.
Crying out in pain, LemaRes released her grip on the two boys, who fell to the ground, where they landed on their feet with surprising grace. Turning quickly, the two of them fired two more blasts but had their hopes dashed when she merely swatted them aside, where they exploded in the distance. With an angry cry, LemaRes brought her head down and unleashed a torrent of fire.
Everyone quickly darted in all directions to avoid the fire. Rex had been busy looking behind him, when he ran right into the rock wall next to where KyVina lay. Collapsing to his knees, he growled something incomprehensible.
“They came for you,” KyVina said faintly, lying on the ground, barely able to move.
“What?” he said, leaning closer to her.
“The DraGons,” she repeated, this time trying to lift her head. “They came here looking for you, just as they did fifteen years ago…when we found you.”
“Found me?” Rex repeated, looking uncertain as to what she was talking about.
“We wanted to tell you, Rex, trust me when I say we did, but…in truth…did not know how…or even if we should.”
“Tell me what? KyVina, I don’t understand, what are you talking about?”
“Rex, if I should not survive, please remember that we are all truly sorry.”
KyVina strained her head to look up. Rex followed her gaze and saw the haunting image of the large grey DraGon slowly emerging from the flames, her eyes burning with a kind of cold fury.
“Sorry for what?” he asked not taking his eyes off the DraGon.
“Because any chance you could have had at a normal life is now gone,” she said with a sense of sadness yet also acceptance in her voice.
Rex rose to his feet and stood defiantly before the immense DraGon, which strode up and looked down on him, regarding him with an unwavering stare. It was at that moment that the image of another DraGon flashed in his mind. It was a face he knew, but from where? Then it hit him. “There was a DraGon there that night I…!” His eyes went wide as he remembered the night he saw the world below open up and release a terrible monster like the ones here. Monsters that tried to kill him before the sky was set ablaze and… “Father.”
“Is it all starting to come back to you now, Rex?” came a deep voice. Turning, Rex saw KyGahl emerge out of the smoke, his gold flame radiating beautifully around him. “I knew it would eventually. Still, the timing could not be better for us,” he added with a malevolent grin.
“KyGahl,” DiNiya said. “What are you saying? I don’t understand!”
“Yes indeed, KyGahl,” KyVina growled as she made an effort to raise herself to her haunches. “Do explain?”
“How long I’ve waited for this day,” he continued, drawing ever closer. “For five hundred and thirty-seven
years, I have been forced to watch this world grow and prosper in ways that I would have never dreamed of if left to all of you. Then again, it would have not been so, had it not been for us in the first place, for it was we who unwillingly bestowed the gift of light to a world of savage ignorance and darkness. Or rather, a gift you raped and pillaged from us!” His voice now grew shaky and laden with emotion. “Imagine my shock when I learned of my true nature, of my past and people…of who I once was and why I came to reside within this hollow husk, all the while living among insects as they scurry about their pointless lives.”
KyVina was now on her feet, glaring down at the man they had all spent their lives calling friend. Tears now streamed down KyGahl’s face as he stood in the center of the burned-out clearing, with fists clenched and eyes focused forward on Rex, who was now teetering on the brink of reality and the horrific images playing through his mind.
EeNox and ShinGaru raced to the other two girls before attempting to run over to Rex, but were stopped by PeroDay, who landed in front of them, blocking their path. “I’d rather you not interrupt my brother’s big moment,” he said as he crossed his arms in front of him. “He has been preparing for it for quite some time, after all.”
“Brother?” DiNiya gasped. “But how can that be? He’s one of us and you’re a…DraGon.” The words seemed to leave a sudden horrible taste in her mouth, like they had just turned to ash. Slowly she turned her head and set her gaze on KyGahl, who was still standing with his eyes transfixed on the young man ahead of him.
“No more running,” KyGahl cried out. “No more hiding!” He suddenly erupted in a golden torrent of light as his form seemed to shrink and dissolve into itself, while something enormous and made of his flame rose up in its place. Everyone gasped in shock as the flames withdrew and revealed a massive DraGon that dwarfed even LemaRes. “Ahh, it has been so long since I felt my flame burn within my old skin,” he said in a deep, reverberating voice.
